The Making of Broken
Our Easter Production for 2008, Broken, has now come to past. We thank and praise God for the opportunity to stage this event and for the lives that were saved. Here is brief synopsis of the “behind-the-scene” coverage from our Broken Blog.
The Cast of Broken:
Script by Stevie Heong
Eddie - Derrick Choy
Steph (Eddie’s wife) - Lau Wai Ping
Ah Ken (Eddie’s friend) - Kenneth Koh
Jin (Eddie’s friend) - Lim Cheng Jin
Pastor - Goh Yat Hwa
The Synopsis:
When Eddie’s perfect world starts to shatter around him, he desperately agrees to a risky business deal. In an intense cross-fire, lives are jeopardized and he is now left with one final decision that will decide his eternity…
When all is broken, is there hope?
broken is an originally written drama set in contemporary times where survival depends on the success rate of taking risks - business deals pulling through, investments earning returns with a quick turnaround, being at the right place at the right time. Chance? No. It all boils down to the one thing that makes or breaks you….
Decisions.
In broken, we find a family man striving for a better life for his loved ones. After many years, Eddie’s plans finally come to fruition, only for him to be confronted with this….
In that one poignant moment, a decision is made that alters his life and the lives of others.
broken seeks to approach and give meaning to the decisions that we make daily. Perhaps to challenge a change of perspective of how trivial but significant these decisions are or can be, especially when they concern your life.
Scriptwriter Stevie Heong says it aptly, “….what we decide today determines where we go tomorrow…..“.
The initial preparation of the broken began slightly over two months ago when the team gather to brainstorm for the Easter production plot . Deciding to take a different approach and prepare a script related to our everyday life, scriptwriter, Stevie Heong, said with regards to the creation of the script, “I got my inspiration from Luke 23 about Jesus and the thieves at the cross. It was always an interesting story to me, on how the thief, from chastising Jesus at the beginning was later transformed and pleaded for forgiveness at the end. And how Jesus forgives us, no matter how late the hour, if we truly repent and believe.” He wanted to portray Jesus’ love for us when he died on the cross for our sins over two thousand years ago.From the completion of the script to the selection of cast and crew for the production, the team went through many weeks of challenging practices leading up to the debut of the actual production on the 21st and 22nd of March. Through widespread publicity for the event, which included thousands of flyers being distributed by church members and cell groups, promotion through the internet via emails, blogs and websites and even advertisements in the local newspaper “The Star”, the production emerged as a huge success. attracting over 3000 visitors over the two days. Rev. Dr. Stanley Lim and Rev. Ps. Julie Khoo - speakers for broken - shared Easter’s most important message of Jesus’ sacrifice and love at the Cross to all in attendance. The heartfelt message struck a chord with the crowd and resulted in many people coming to and rededicating their lives to Christ.Although broken has run its course, , we need only look back at it to remind ourselves daily, that “what we decide today, determines where we go tomorrow…”.Congratulations and good work to everyone involved in the broken Production.
A Word from the Scriptwriter
Find out in this short interview what inspired Stevie to write this suspense drama and how he spent his Sunday at it!I’m sure you guys are really excited to hear what went on inside Stevie’s head while he was drumming up the script for broken and trust us, amidst the intellect, you might find some surprising quirks to his script-writing skills! Read on for more…..
Team@broken: We know lots went into this, can tell us what the underlying theme for broken is?
Stevie: Basically these three verses…
[+] The enemy has come to steal kill and destroy (John 10:10)
[+] Love covers multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8)
[+] His love endures forever (Ps 136)
Team@broken: What inspired you to create the script?
Stevie: Fear of Karen calling me 24/7 about the script inspired me to write this! haha. Aside from that, I got my inspiration from Luke 23 about Jesus and the thieves at the cross. It has always been an interesting story, on how the thief, from chastising Jesus at the beginning was later transformed and pleaded for forgiveness at the end. And how Jesus forgives us, no matter how late the hour, if we truly repent and believe.
Team@broken: Aside from brain juice, what other elements went into creating the script?
Stevie: Time, lots of tea and a whole sunday afternoon.
Team@broken: How long did it take you?
Stevie: I think it was about 11 am till probably 5 pm on a Sunday. I didn’t go to church I think -attended Saturday service - and I recall playing golf in the late evening so it was probably done by 5.00pm. Everyone needs to have a healthy game of golf every weekend, you know 
Team@broken: Was it hard?
Stevie: Not especially. Karen and you folks already helped lay the foundation so I didn’t really do too much, just added in dialogues and characters and expanded it. I also took the story from the thief on the cross, since that story has always fascinated me. I saw it bits and pieces like a storyboard, like in a movie, so I didn’t crack my head too much about screen transitions, props, music and all those other stuff. I leave those stuff to you! hahah!
Team@broken: Gee thanks! So what was the process like?
(ie. did you have lots of toilet breaks, did you sit there and hold your pee in till you were done, was your wisdom tooth hurting?)
Stevie: Not much. I didn’t drink a lot, so I didn’t really have to pee much, and I do have a rather large bladder after all those years of training in my secondary school, where the toilet is so filthy you don’t wanna go in there AT ALL!!! I did have a couple of browsers up for references to Bible Verses and stories like the thief on the cross and stuff. I’ll add that I just hacked up a draft, which was very well changed by the rest of you guys, so again, it’s a fantastic team!
Team@broken: Thanks for the good word! Please do tell our bosses that… Coming back to the script, what are you hoping it will convey to the audience?
Stevie: I suppose the message of Hope, and that we’re all living here with eternity in mind. That what we decide today determines where we go tomorrow. I don’t know how I’d like them feel; I’d just like the congregation to be open for the Holy Spirit to work His message in them personally through the play, and through the sermon.
Team@broken: Time of truth! We need some feedback on the play: do you see the script coming to life there in our practices?
Stevie: Of course! With a great director and a great team, it’s going good! Just a couple of scenes to tighten up and it’s good to go.
Team@broken: Awww…thanks. Okay, last but not least, in 25 words or less, what does Easter mean to you?
Stevie: Do I win a car for the best slogan? heheh. And you know I can’t construe a meaningful sentence under 25 words but here goes….
“Easter is the completion of Jesus’ ministry on earth, and signals also the start of the exciting new relationship we now enjoy with God, as his heirs, and also to carry His gospel to everyone else. In other words, it’s as significant as Christmas, and I think there should be public holidays given!!”
The team at broken would like to thank Stevie for his time and his antics. And erm, we’re sorry for the photo uncle Stevie, we’ll post a nicer just as soon as we get it!
Compiled by: Damien Lim
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